vegan curry

Comfort food for the Heart and Soul

 

What do you think of when people talk about ‘comfort food?’

Is it a retro-type dish from your childhood, something like eggs, chips and beans, or a pile of buttery mash with sausages and gravy? Is it traditional fish and chips or a Sunday Roast? Or maybe something sweeter like sticky toffee pudding, or apple crumble and custard?

As people become ever more nutritionally aware and more in-tune with the benefits of healthy and balanced eating, then the concept of what constitutes ‘comfort food’ is also changing.

We’ve had a longer and harsher than usual Winter here in Ibiza, and cosy comfort food has been a hot topic of conversation! As more time has been spent curled up in front of fires, the desire for comfort food has been greater than ever, BUT – with the over-indulgent Christmas period a distant memory and Spring just around the corner, healthy eating is also back to the top of the agenda.

This gorgeous Vegan Balti recipe is a perfect example of healthy, hearty comfort eating, that will fuel your body, feed your soul and leave you feeling brimful of satisfaction.

With powerhouse spices, turmeric and cayenne pepper for added anti-oxidant goodness to help fight off Winter colds, and peppers, coriander, garam masala and cardamon for that authentic Balti flavour, this vegan curry hits all the right notes and is super-simple to make too!

vegan curry

This delicious recipe is from Lisa Strong, of Strong4Life Nutrition. Lisa is a Retreat chef and Nutritional Advisor from our very own Ibiza Retreats family.

Come and experience Lisa’s fabulous hearty and nourishing food on our Rejuvenate and Get Glowing retreats this Summer.

Check out our full Retreat Calendar here.

Lisa Strong’s Vegan Balti

2 teaspoons coconut oil

½ tsp turmeric

¼ Tsp cinnamon

½ Tsp sweet paprika

½ Tsp cayenne pepper

1 can of chopped tomatoes

Half a lime juiced

1 ½ cups water

¼ tsp Palm sugar

Handful coriander

Red pepper, sliced thinly

Green pepper, sliced thinly

Pack of Tempeh (or Tofu)

¼ Tsp Garam masala

½ Tsp Coriander seeds (or powder)

Seeds from 2 cardamon pods

1 red onion, diced

1 inch ginger, grated

3 cloves garlic coarsely chopped

½ tsp salt

Heat 1 tsp oil over medium heat add peppers and cook for around 3-4 minutes, then remove & set aside. Add tempeh & garam masala to same pan cook for 3 -4 minutes and set aside.

Heat remaining oil add the seeds for 3 mins until fragrant then add onion, garlic, ginger & ¼ tsp salt. Cook until onion is translucent stir occasionally around 12 minutes. Then add turmeric, cinnamon, paprika, cayenne & tinned tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are slightly saucy around 3-4 mins.

Combine the onion tomato mixture in blender with ½ cup of the water with the lime juice and blend until smooth. Add the sauce, remaining water, palm sugar & salt to the pan with the tempeh and peppers and simmer down for around 20 minutes. Garnish with Coriander…. Tastes even better the day after.

I serve mine with quinoa.

Enjoy

Love Lise xx

 

 

 

ibiza retreats

Retreat to Imagine your dreams into reality

 

ibiza retreats

When you are amidst the challenges and responsibilities of daily life, how often to set aside “me time” to purely rest, be and dream?

Why is it that, so often, we put dreaming “last” on our to do lists?

As the medical world is beginning to recognise, due to all the functional illnesses presenting themselves, such as anxiety, insomnia and depression, these all have similar “symptoms” but no “root cause” that can be medically diagnosed.  Yet finally, modern medicine is beginning to hold hands with mental health professionals and yoga therapists who are collectively recognising that our over-active minds have been seriously stressing our holistic human systems.  From our schooling to parenting, to climbing the career ladder, we have been over-conditioned to “make things happen” and “get things done” – we have been programming ourselves to “succeed” materially, even if it pulls out of a positive life state, places pressure on our vital organs, sets our adrenals into overdrive.

 

We need to remember how to be like children more often… living from moment to moment, giving ourselves space to play, to have natural, stimulant free fun, which relaxes our whole system and creates the space for us to dream. Not only does this child-like space connect you to a higher-energetic frequency where you are feeling so good that you CAN you’re your mind and believe in new and better possibilities, this higher life state is one of infinite potential, connected to the third-eye and crown chakras, it also is the space of the “dreamer” within you who KNOWS that life can be colourful, magical and full of divine interventions.  It is in the dream-state that you are most open to the power of your heart’s intentions – to God or Spirit or Source guided INSPIRATION.

 

The value of dreaming (when you are awake!) is that it literally, opens your mind to allow your deeper desires and wishes to arise.  They may come as visions, inner-voices, or subtle senses of what you truly wish your life to be like.  And the caterpillar – chrysalis – butterfly metamorphosis demonstrates YOUR power to transform yourself and your life by dreaming:

 

The caterpillars new cells are called ‘imaginal cells.’ They resonate at a different frequency. They are so totally different from the caterpillar cells that his immune system thinks they are enemies…and gobbles them up–Chomp! Gulp! But these new imaginal cells continue to appear. More and more of them! Pretty soon, the caterpillar’s immune system cannot destroy them fast enough. More and more of the imaginal cells survive. And then an amazing thing happens! The little tiny lonely imaginal cells start to clump together, into friendly little groups. They all resonate together at the same frequency, passing information from one to another. Then, after awhile, another amazing thing happens! The clumps of imaginal cells start to cluster together!.., A long string of clumping and clustering imaginal cell, all resonating at the same frequency, all passing information from one to another there inside the chrysalis.”

 

“A wave of Good News travels throughout the system– Lurches and heaves…but not yet a butterfly.” Then at some point, the entire long string of imaginal cells suddenly realizes all together that it is Something Different from the caterpillar. Something New! Something Wonderfull!….and in that realisation is the shout of the birth of the butterfly!”                                              Happy Birthday Butterfly!!!

 

From Nora Huddles Book – BUTTERFLY

 

Dreaming is the secret to ongoing conscious transformation, to remaining connected to your  deeper wishes and soul-journey, to walking your true “path” in life, to giving space to allow your heart-felt needs to make themselves seen, sensed and heard. Dreaming for me, having just returned from a magical Ulpotha retreat, in emerald Sri Lankan nature, became as valuable as the yoga, the meditations, the kirtans, the incredible massages and ayurvedic treatments.   It unlocked my imagination. It reconnected me to the higher vibrations of truly believing (again) in my life as work of magical art – full of infinite creative possibility. I came away from the retreat ready to reconnect with my life in Ibiza, full of new energy and lightness. I felt like I was resonating with the beauty and open-ended possibilities of life. I felt excited about ALL that the future had in store – childlike, joyful and free.

 

So come on wonderful people, amidst these times of change and TRUMP, of Syria and the ongoing refugee crisis, this year, dare to spread your wings.

 

Put your dreams first! Life is calling you to live your TRUE colours more than ever before.

Become a butterfly in 2017….  Invoke your own IMAGINAL CELLS by joining us on retreat in Ibiza, nourishing your imaginal frequency by taking time OUT to tune in, rest, rejuvenate and dream!

chocolate mousse

For the Love of Chocolate; raw vegan chocolate mousse.

When you’re feeling in need of a little self-love, there’s nothing better than a delicious dose of the dark stuff…

This raw vegan chocolate mousse is simple to make, and BEYOND DELICIOUS!

AND it’s made from only good stuff, so you can treat yourself and feel good about yourself all at the same time. Isn’t that how you should always feel?

Enjoy x

chocolate mousse

Raw Chocolate Mousse

1 cup water
1 cup coconut oil
60 gram cacao powder

1 avocado
half cup agave

Blend all together until it is smooth and creamy.

Put it in the fridge around 30 minutes.

Decorate the mousse with fruits, pistachio or coconut shreds.

ibiza yoga retreat

February is the new January!

 

yoga retreat

‘New Year – New You’. How many times have we heard or seen that phrase? The idea that once the clock strikes midnight, we don’t actually turn into a pumpkin, yet we do suddenly leave behind all our ‘bad’ habits and become a new person overnight…

Statistics show that 75% of people break their resolutions just one week into them. So, how about a different approach? Now January is over and many of us might feel like we’ve failed already, let’s start again. You can make positive changes at any time and it’s even easier when the pressure is off! February is the new January.

So as I’m on my own retreat and taking time to reflect on the year past – practising gratitude for all that I’ve learnt and how I’ve grown – and the many blessings in my life, I’m still making that resolution to make big changes. And I’ve been in this business a long time now! I know that setting huge, unrealistic goals is like setting ourselves up for failure. So this time, I’ve changed the way that I look at my resolutions / promises to myself / life commitments at the turn of this year. And here are some top tips I’ve learnt along the way from my own experience and also from some of the incredibly wise souls that I’m lucky enough to meet on my path.

  • Make your Resolutions En-JOY-able.
  • Avoid negative language like “Stop doing X” or “Don’t do Y”. Make your resolutions something you can look forward to doing – make them more positively focused, with the emphasis on the outcome.
  • Sleep More!
    Research shows that as a population, most of us don’t get enough sleep. And sleep is so important for not only our appearance, but also the regeneration of our organs, our memory and also our nervous system. So allow yourself to lie-in when you need to and don’t feel guilty about taking a nap!
  • Travel More!
    There is nothing more inspiring that taking a life adventure. New places, people and experiences can help us to get out of any ‘ruts’ that we’ve been sitting in, in ‘comfortable discomfort’. Feel rejuvenated and replenished by saving for, planning and going on a trip – discovery and learning is great for the mind, body and spirit!
  • A daily practise!
    This is probably the most important piece of post-retreat advice we give. Take time daily to connect to yourself. We are so quick to get up, pick up our phones or switch on the TV and get out of the door, that we forget the most important thing – a daily connection to ourselves and our body, mind and spirit. Just taking the time in the morning to sit, breath and listen to yourself can change you whole day. If you feel under particular stress, then take the time to acknowledge what’s making you feel stressed, tap into your intuition and then set your intention for the day ahead. Often just imagining yourself fully protected and safe, before you go and give your energy away to the outside world, can be incredibly powerful. Even better if you have time to do a yoga practise!
    (Psst! Watch out for our new February newsletter, where we will be including bite-sized yoga sequences and guided meditations and visualisations every week.)
  • Create a vision board!
    This is basically a great excuse to get a load of magazines, photos, words and colours that inspire you and to get the creative juices flowing. We like to use as much glitter and fairy dust as possible! If you’re inspired and would like more information on how to create your own vision board, then feel free to email us at info@ibizaretreats.com – or of course you could always join us for a retreat. You can see our full schedule here – https://www.ibizaretreats.com/retreat-calendar.

Gently does it, be kind and take it one day at a time. Happy New Year.

Namaste…

Susie x